Days of Shattered Faith

Enhancing a taut political thriller with magical elements—including a necromantic conspiracy and a giant frog god—Hugo Award winner Tchaikovsky’s brilliant third Tyrant Philosophers fantasy again explores the tension between secular orthodoxy and religious fervor. Following the events of 2023’s House of Open Wounds, the Palleseen nation attempts to bring its rigid rationality to the city of Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters and capital of Usmai, the largest successor state of the death-worshipping Moeribandi Empire. The Palleseen resident ambassador, Sage-Invigilator Angilly, has started an unapproved romantic relationship with Usmai’s heir apparent, Dekamran. When Dekamran’s father, the Alkhand, disappears into a religious cult, Dekamran and his siblings scramble to either take control of or escape the suddenly dangerous city. Angilly must perform the delicate balancing act of supporting Dekamran as Palleseen’s indebted ally while not exposing herself to charges of theological corruption. Crowding the city streets with free-range demons, interdimensional refugees, and giant war beasts, Tchaikovsky succeeds in turning Alkhalend into a stage that showcases the entanglement of the personal and the political in ways both touching and tragic. It’s an impressive feat. (Mar.)